I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4196 

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to improve enforcement of the trade 

laws of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 9, 2015 

Mr. NOLAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to improve enforcement 

of the trade laws of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trade Enforcement 

5 Improvement Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF FACTORS CONSIDERED IN FINAL 

2 DETERMINATION IN ANTIDUMPING OR COUN3 TERVAILING DUTY INVESTIGATION IN CASE 

4 OF AN ALLEGATION OF CRITICAL CIR5 CUMSTANCES. 

6 (a) COUNTERVAILING DUTIES.—Clause (ii) of section 

7 705(b)(4)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

8 1671d(b)(4)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(ii) LIKELY TO SERIOUSLY UNDER10 MINE THE REMEDIAL EFFECT OF A COUN11 TERVAILING DUTY ORDER.— 

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Commis13 sion shall find under clause (i) that 

14 imports of subject merchandise sub15 ject to the affirmative determination 

16 under subsection (a)(2) are likely to 

17 undermine seriously the remedial ef18 fect of the countervailing duty order 

19 to be issued under section 706 if the 

20 Commission determines that imports 

21 of such merchandise after the filing of 

22 the petition under this subtitle sub23 stantially weaken the remedial effect 

24 of any subsequent countervailing duty 

25 order. 


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1 ‘‘(II) FACTORS IN DETERMINA2 TION.—In making a determination 

3 under subclause (I) with respect to 

4 imports of subject merchandise de5 scribed in that subclause, the Com6 mission shall consider, based on the 

7 facts available, the following: 

8 ‘‘(aa) An increase in the 

9 market share in the United 

10 States of imports of such mer11 chandise after the filing of the 

12 petition. 

13 ‘‘(bb) An increase in under14 selling of the domestic like prod15 uct by imports of such merchan16 dise, in terms of frequency or 

17 magnitude, after the filing of the 

18 petition. 

19 ‘‘(cc) A significant buildup 

20 of inventories of imports of such 

21 merchandise in the United 

22 States, whether held by United 

23 States importers, purchasers, or 

24 end users, after the filing of the 

25 petition. 


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1 ‘‘(dd) A weakening of the in2 dustry of the domestic like prod3 uct after the filing of the peti4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(ee) Any other circumstan6 ces indicating that, after the fil7 ing of the petition, imports of 

8 such merchandise substantially 

9 weaken the remedial effect of the 

10 countervailing duty order. 

11 ‘‘(III) ASSESSMENT OF COMPETI12 TION.—The Commission shall con13 sider items (aa) through (ee) of sub14 clause (II) based on the particular 

15 conditions of competition in the rel16 evant industry. 

17 ‘‘(IV) TIME PERIOD.—The period 

18 of time evaluated in making a deter19 mination under subclause (I) shall not 

20 include any period after the issuance 

21 of the preliminary determination by 

22 the administering authority under sec23 tion 703(b) with respect to the subject 

24 merchandise.’’. 


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1 (b) ANTIDUMPING DUTIES.—Clause (ii) of section 

2 735(b)(4)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

3 1673d(b)(4)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(ii) LIKELY TO SERIOUSLY UNDER5 MINE THE REMEDIAL EFFECT OF AN ANTI6 DUMPING DUTY ORDER.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Commis8 sion shall find under clause (i) that 

9 imports of subject merchandise sub10 ject to the affirmative determination 

11 under subsection (a)(3) are likely to 

12 undermine seriously the remedial ef13 fect of the antidumping duty order to 

14 be issued under section 736 if the 

15 Commission determines that imports 

16 of such merchandise after the filing of 

17 the petition under this subtitle sub18 stantially weaken the remedial effect 

19 of any subsequent antidumping duty 

20 order. 

21 ‘‘(II) FACTORS IN DETERMINA22 TION.—In making a determination 

23 under subclause (I) with respect to 

24 imports of subject merchandise de25 scribed in that subclause, the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Dec 10, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4196.IH H4196

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1 mission shall consider, based on the 

2 facts available, the following: 

3 ‘‘(aa) An increase in the 

4 market share in the United 

5 States of imports of such mer6 chandise after the filing of the 

7 petition. 

8 ‘‘(bb) An increase in under9 selling of the domestic like prod10 uct by imports of such merchan11 dise, in terms of frequency or 

12 magnitude, after the filing of the 

13 petition. 

14 ‘‘(cc) A significant buildup 

15 of inventories of imports of such 

16 merchandise in the United 

17 States, whether held by United 

18 States importers, purchasers, or 

19 end users, after the filing of the 

20 petition. 

21 ‘‘(dd) A weakening of the in22 dustry of the domestic like prod23 uct after the filing of the peti24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(ee) Any other circumstan2 ces indicating that, after the fil3 ing of the petition, imports of 

4 such merchandise substantially 

5 weaken the remedial effect of the 

6 antidumping duty order. 

7 ‘‘(III) ASSESSMENT OF COMPETI8 TION.—The Commission shall con9 sider items (aa) through (ee) of sub10 clause (II) based on the particular 

11 conditions of competition in the rel12 evant industry. 

13 ‘‘(IV) TIME PERIOD.—The period 

14 of time evaluated in making a deter15 mination under subclause (I) shall not 

16 include any period after the issuance 

17 of the preliminary determination by 

18 the administering authority under sec19 tion 733(b) with respect to the subject 

20 merchandise.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DETERMINATION OF THREAT OF 

2 MATERIAL INJURY BASED ON IMMINENT FU3 TURE IMPORTS IN ANTIDUMPING OR COUN4 TERVAILING DUTY INVESTIGATION. 

5 Section 771(7)(F) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

6 U.S.C. 1677(7)(F)) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT OF IMMINENT FUTURE

9 IMPORTS.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

11 subclauses (II) and (III), the Commis12 sion may determine under this sub13 paragraph that an industry in the 

14 United States is threatened with ma15 terial injury by reason of imports (or 

16 sales for importation) of the subject 

17 merchandise notwithstanding the re18 sults of an evaluation under subpara19 graph (C)(iii) with respect to the ef20 fect of imports of the subject mer21 chandise on that industry if the Com22 mission determines that imminent fu23 ture imports of the subject merchan24 dise will likely lead to a change of cir25 cumstances concerning the state of 

26 that industry. 


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1 ‘‘(II) FUTURE PERFORMANCE ES2 TIMATE.—The Commission shall de3 termine under this subparagraph that 

4 an industry in the United States is 

5 threatened with material injury if the 

6 performance of that industry is likely 

7 to be materially worse than it would 

8 have been in the absence of the likely 

9 volume of imports of subject merchan10 dise in the imminent future. 

11 ‘‘(III) FOREIGN PROJECTIONS.— 

12 With respect to considering economic 

13 factors described in clause (i)(II), in a 

14 case in which production capacity in 

15 or exports to the United States from 

16 the exporting country are projected by 

17 foreign producers to decline in the im18 minent future and such projection is 

19 contrary to information examined by 

20 the Commission in the investigation, 

21 such projection shall require verifica22 tion or independent corroboration be23 fore being considered under this sub24 paragraph.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. PREVENTION OF DUTY EVASION THROUGH IDENTI2 FICATION OF PERSONS AND COUNTRIES RE3 SPONSIBLE FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE CUS4 TOMS LAWS. 

5 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF CERTAIN PERSONS WHO

6 VIOLATE THE CUSTOMS LAWS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may publish 

8 semiannually in the Federal Register a list of any 

9 producer, manufacturer, supplier, seller, exporter, or 

10 other person located outside the customs territory of 

11 the United States to which the Commissioner has 

12 issued a penalty claim under section 592(b)(2) of 

13 the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592(b)(2)) citing 

14 any of the violations of the customs laws described 

15 in paragraph (3). 

16 (2) EFFECT OF PETITION FOR REMISSION OR

17 MITIGATION.—If a person to which a penalty claim 

18 described in paragraph (1) is issued files a petition 

19 for remission or mitigation under section 618 of that 

20 Act (19 U.S.C. 1618) with respect to the penalty 

21 claim, the Secretary may not include the person on 

22 a list published under paragraph (1) until a final de23 termination is made under such section 618. 

24 (3) VIOLATIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The violations of the 

2 customs laws described in this paragraph are 

3 the following: 

4 (i) Using documentation, or providing 

5 documentation subsequently used by the 

6 importer of record, that indicates a false or 

7 fraudulent country of origin or source of 

8 goods described in subparagraph (B) being 

9 entered into the customs territory of the 

10 United States. 

11 (ii) Using counterfeit visas, licenses, 

12 permits, bills of lading, commercial in13 voices, packing lists, certificates of origin, 

14 or similar documentation, or providing 

15 counterfeit visas, licenses, permits, bills of 

16 lading, commercial invoices, packing lists, 

17 certificates of origin, or similar documenta18 tion subsequently used by the importer of 

19 record, with respect to the entry into the 

20 customs territory of the United States of 

21 goods described in subparagraph (B). 

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1 lently labeled as to country of origin or 

2 source. 

3 (iv) Engaging in practices that aid or 

4 abet the transshipment, through a country 

5 other than the country of origin, of goods 

6 described in subparagraph (B), in a man7 ner that conceals the true origin of the 

8 goods or permits the evasion of quotas or 

9 duties on, or voluntary restraint agree10 ments with respect to, imports of the 

11 goods. 

12 (B) GOODS DESCRIBED.—Goods described 

13 in this subparagraph are— 

14 (i) textile or apparel goods; or 

15 (ii) goods subject to antidumping or 

16 countervailing duty orders under title VII 

17 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 

18 et seq.). 

19 (4) REMOVAL FROM LIST.—Any person in20 cluded on a list published under paragraph (1) may 

21 petition the Secretary to be removed from the list. 

22 If the Secretary finds that the person has not com23 mitted any violations of the customs laws described 

24 in paragraph (3) for a period of not less than 3 

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1 cluded on the list, the Secretary shall remove the 

2 person from the list as of the next publication of the 

3 list under paragraph (1). 

4 (5) REASONABLE CARE REQUIRED FOR SUBSE5 QUENT IMPORTS.— 

6 (A) RESPONSIBILITY OF IMPORTERS AND

7 OTHERS.—After a person has been included on 

8 a list published under paragraph (1), the Sec9 retary shall require any importer of record en10 tering, introducing, or attempting to introduce 

11 into the commerce of the United States any 

12 goods described in paragraph (3)(B) that were 

13 either directly or indirectly produced, manufac14 tured, supplied, sold, exported, or transported 

15 by the person on the list to show, to the satis16 faction of the Secretary, that such importer has 

17 exercised reasonable care to ensure that those 

18 goods are accompanied by documentation, pack19 aging, and labeling that are accurate as to the 

20 origin of those goods. Such reasonable care 

21 shall not include reliance solely on information 

22 provided by the person on the list. 

23 (B) FAILURE TO EXERCISE REASONABLE

24 CARE.—If the Commissioner determines that an 

25 imported good is not from the country claimed 


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1 on the documentation accompanying the good, 

2 the failure to exercise reasonable care described 

3 in subparagraph (A) shall be considered when 

4 the Commissioner determines whether the im5 porter of record is in violation of section 484(a) 

6 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(a)) 

7 or regulations issued under that section. 

8 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH-RISK COUNTRIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may publish 

10 annually in the Federal Register a list of coun11 tries— 

12 (A) in which illegal activities have occurred 

13 involving transshipped goods or activities de14 signed to evade quotas or duties of the United 

15 States on goods; and 

16 (B) the governments of which fail to dem17 onstrate a good faith effort to cooperate with 

18 United States authorities in ceasing such activi19 ties. 

20 (2) REMOVAL FROM LIST.—Any country that is 

21 on the list published under paragraph (1) that sub22 sequently demonstrates a good faith effort to cooper23 ate with United States authorities in ceasing activi24 ties described in that paragraph shall be removed 


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1 from the list, and such removal shall be published in 

2 the Federal Register as soon as practicable. 

3 (3) REASONABLE CARE REQUIRED FOR SUBSE4 QUENT IMPORTS.— 

5 (A) RESPONSIBILITY OF IMPORTERS OF

6 RECORD.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

7 shall require any importer of record entering, 

8 introducing, or attempting to introduce into the 

9 commerce of the United States goods indicated, 

10 on the documentation, packaging, or labeling 

11 accompanying such goods, to be from any coun12 try on the list published under paragraph (1) to 

13 show, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that 

14 the importer, consignee, or purchaser has exer15 cised reasonable care to identify the true coun16 try of origin of the good. 

17 (B) FAILURE TO EXERCISE REASONABLE

18 CARE.—If the Commissioner determines that a 

19 good described in subparagraph (A) is not from 

20 the country claimed on the documentation ac21 companying the good, the failure to exercise 

22 reasonable care under that subparagraph shall 

23 be considered when the Commissioner deter24 mines whether the importer of record is in vio25 lation of section 484(a) of the Tariff Act of 


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1 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(a)) or regulations issued 

2 under that section. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis5 sioner’’ means the Commissioner responsible for 

6 U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

7 (2) COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘country’’ means a 

8 foreign country or territory, including any overseas 

9 dependent territory or possession of a foreign coun10 try. 

11 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Æ 


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